My story begins with my friend Emru’s diagnosis of Acute Myelogenous Leukaemia. When Emru was diagnosed, he was told that what could save his life was a stem cell transplant. He also discovered that, not only was there no compatible donor in his family, but he would be unlikely to find an unrelated donor because of his ethnic group. You see, the Stem Cell Registry is a predominantly caucasian list, and Emru was of mixed caribbean descent. Rather than admit defeat, however, Emru and his family took on a mission. They started a campaign to get people to join the Stem Cell Registry, especially those from underrepresented ethnic groups. It just so happens that Emru and his sister Tamu had a vast network of connections that they were able to put to good use. They had posters, pins and pamphlets made. Emru gave interviews, kept a blog describing his treatment and search for a donor, filmed a talk from his hospital bed, and addressed audiences before concerts. His sister organized information sessions at Concordia to dispel myths about stem cell donation, with guest speakers who described their experiences.
Emru finally found a match about nine months after his diagnosis, but was unable to get into remission before the transplant and passed away in just over a month. His family’s mission did not end there. They have continued to help recruit potential stem cell donors and to raise money for research. In 2010 they got a large group of family and friends together to participate in Montreal’s Light the Night walk to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada (LLSC). I was among those people, and it was my great honour to hold one end of the banner, which read “Help Emru Heal Someone.” The experience was very moving. It left me feeling like I needed to do more.
A short while later, I saw a message on Tamu’s Facebook from Light the Night, saying something like “come to a Team in Training information session at the LLSC office.” I read the description of TNT and thought: “I’ve run 10Ks and a half-marathon before... this is something I can do!” So I went to the information session where I met some crazy cancer fighting people and signed up to train for the Halifax Bluenose Half-Marathon in May of 2011. After Halifax, I trained for the Nike Women’s Half-Marathon in 2011 and 2012, and am now training for my first full marathon—all with Team in Training. I have raised a total of $11,276 for the LLSC.
TNT participants run (or walk, or swim, bike and run) in honour of someone who has lost, won or is currently fighting a battle with cancer. The longer one remains in TNT, the more people tell you their cancer stories. In my first season, I had one honouree. Then one of my donors told me of her daughter’s diagnosis, and in my 2nd season I had two honourees. Then an old family friend passed away and I had three honourees. This season it looks as though my list will grow to five, which does not include the team’s honourees. Our team have a few children whom we run for, who are still in treatment, and who have received care-packages from the LLSC office. We train hard and remind ourselves constantly that our aches and pains are nothing compared to the harsh treatments cancer patients must endure.
Should you wish to help us with our mission, you may do so here: http://bit.ly/RebeccaTNT2014. Every little bit helps and can make a tangible difference in someone's life.
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